Gregg Allman delayed a hospital stay intended help him fully get over his upper respiratory infection
and make sure his liver transplant wasn’t causing any undue complications so he
could play today’s Sturgis 2011 Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, ND, but Lynyrd
Skynyrd has let down 500,000 bikers by canceling their appearance on the
bill.

The Legendary Buffalo
Chip announced yesterday that iconic Southern rock pioneer Gregg Allman will do
a longer performance in the headline slot at the Legendary Buffalo Chip on
Wednesday, August 10. Allman's performance
will now include more songs from The Allman Brothers Band

But to be fair, the festival did have a little notice, since Lynyrd Skynyrd was forced to bow out of their appearance at Clear Lake, Wisconsin’s
Fire Fest on August 6 (rescheduled for September 10), and their date at Grand Rapids,
Michigan’s Rock The Rapids Fest on August 8, after lead singer Johnny Van Zant was
admitted to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, MN on August 6 with
a staph infection. The singer had had surgery earlier this year and the surgical site
was infected with cellulitis (a bacterial skin infection) which required hospitalization with IV antibiotic
treatment.

According to doctors at Hennepin County Medical Center, Van Zant was advisied not to do any shows for at
least a week or until cleared by his primary doctor. But as of today, Lynyrd Skynyrd
plans to resume their regular tour schedule on August 12 in Sedalia, Missouri,
unless doctors advise otherwise.

There was some confusion over the cause of the cancellation. Grand Rapid's Wood TV reported that the headliners canceled at the last minute Monday because the lead singer was hurt in a car crash.

The last time Van Zant was forced to cancel shows was following
ermegency surgery to have his appendix removed in May 2006, before he was
scheduled to perform at San Francisco’s The Bone's Bone Bash 7.
The incident forced the band to cancel three US shows. Before that, Van Zant had an operation
on his throat due to acute and chronic inflammation of his
vocal cords and development of a large vocal cord polyp in 2005 and needed surgery
to remove the growth. That operation required a three-month layoff.

Jaan Uhelszki was one of the founding editors at Detroit’s legendary Creem magazine. Since that time, her work has appeared in USA Today, Uncut, Rolling Stone, Spin, NME, Relix, and Guitar World. She is the only journalist to have ever performed in full makeup with Kiss. Luckily she only had to put…